Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is donating 17,500 Tyvek suits to the Province of Ontario to address the pressing need for personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“OPG has heard directly from health care providers in hospitals and long-term care facilities across Ontario about the growing demand for Tyvek suits,” said Ken Hartwick, OPG’s President and CEO. “As the province’s largest electricity generator, OPG has a responsibility to not only keep the lights on for families, hospitals and essential businesses during this critical time, but also a social responsibility to do everything we can to help meet our communities’ most vital health care needs. Together we will power on.”
Tyveks are protective suits that offer protection against a variety of hazards including liquid, oils, chemicals and airborne elements. OPG uses Tyvek suits when working in nuclear operations, however the suits are also used by health-care professionals to protect against airborne diseases and other hazards.
OPG will coordinate delivery of a shipment of 17,500 Tyvek suits to the Ministry of Health this week for distribution to hospitals, long-term care homes and any other essential health-care providers in the most-needed areas of the province. The suits are designed to be worn in an affected area and then promptly removed and disposed.
The donated Tyvek suits were part of OPG’s inventory of PPE for its Nuclear workers. OPG’s inventory exceeds its needs at this time and as a result, the organization is able to share some of its supplies with the Ontario government for health-care priorities.
OPG will continue to maintain a healthy reserve of Tyvek suits for its critical workers who continue to work every day to keep the lights on for Ontarians.
The donated suits are in addition to the 500,000 surgical masks and 75,000 N95 masks that OPG donated to the Province of Ontario last week in response to the growing shortage of PPE in hospitals and healthcare facilities across the province.
